Shula On The Spot As Dolphins Slide

Coach Deals With Defeats, Griping

Football is a sport of odd contrasts between desperation and satisfaction and perhaps no one in the NFL understands that better right now than the Dolphins.

"When you lose in football, you want to play every day until you win again," fullback Keith Byars said. "When you win, you're happy to get a week off before you play again."

Three weeks ago, the Dolphins were the last team in the NFL to lose. Today, they enter a must-win game with the Buffalo Bills with the longest losing streak in the league - and more questions than ever about coach Don Shula

The losing seems to have everyone seeing red in October. Byars was critical of the play-calling in a comeback win Oct. 1 at Cincinnati. Defensive end Jeff Cross ripped the defensive strategy after the Dolphins blew a 21-point lead to Indianapolis. Tight end Eric Green criticized the running game after the loss in New Orleans.

Safety Gene Atkins threatened to sit out before the game at New York if friend and fellow safety Michael Stewart was benched. After the loss to the Jets, one player indicated that some Dolphins were more concerned about their contract status.

One other player had some complaints but held his tongue. "With everything that's going on around here, I don't want to contribute just now."

At 4-3, they are a game out of first place. They are also one loss from a four-game losing streak that could create chaos going into a game at defending AFC champion San Diego.

"This is the most important game of the season," guard Keith Sims said.

So important that it could turn a season with so much promise into a bombshell for Shula. After the loss in New York, columnists said Shula needed to take greater control. Disgruntled fans even called for his job.

"Nobody has called me," Shula said, deflecting the criticism but not answering it. It is enough to that the initials J.J. - for Jimmy Johnson - hang over Shula like a noose.

With that in the background, Shula sat down for an interview this week to discuss some of this season's issues.

Q.

With the comments made recently by Keith Byars, Jeff Cross, Eric Green and Gene Atkins, do you think that players are more critical of coaches now?

A.

I think society is much more open than it was 10 and 20 years ago and I think it reflects that. There's so much more media attention, so many more opportunities [for players) to express themselves. But going back to our Super Bowl years, we were winning all our games and every Monday morning, either Jim Kiick or Mercury Morris would be sitting in my office, unhappy about their playing time. Both of them were contributing, more on one day than the other, but they were both important to us.

Q.

Is that any different, talking about playing time versus talking about strategy?

A.

Byars was talking about playing time. What do you mean by strategy?

Q.

Cross was talking about strategy.

A.

I don't know what Cross has said or what he means. It is a much more open society and as long as it's not detrimental, that's the way I deal with it now. As long as it's not detrimental to the overall good of the team, I feel I can handle it. The thing I ask is that the player, if he thinks he has something to offer, come to us first.

Q.

Many players have been paid large signing bonuses, making it nearly impossible to cut them for many years because of the salary cap rules. Does that take away the hammer that coaches traditionally had? A.It's the new system we're dealing with. It's the creative financing that the 49ers did last year. It's done to keep your players here. That's the old argument of guaranteed contracts and why the league was so against it all these years. But in this new system of a salary cap, more and more players are getting more and more money up front.

Q.

Does that change their attitude?

A.

I don't think you can make a blanket statement that it does. I think everybody is different. Some people handle it one way and some people handle it another way.

Q.

In this era of player movement with free agency, how hard is it to develop team chemistry?

A.

We're just really finding out about free agency and the movement and how hard it is to keep a team together. It's obvious that there's going to be a lot more player movement.

Q.

Are players more individually oriented than before free agency?

A.

I think again, society, the media attention, everything is much more progressive and open than it was 20 years ago.

Q.

Is that more "me" oriented?

A.

For some it may be and for others, different personalities are handled different ways. I just don't think that you can put a blanket statement the way you're trying to do, the way that you're asking. In some cases it could be true and in other cases it can be furthest from the truth.

Q.

Before the season, owner Wayne Huizenga said there should be no excuses for this team and opened one radio interview by saying, "Welcome to the Super Bowl."How much pressure is there when an owner says that?